Expert Group Meeting on "Citizen Engagement and the Post-2015 Development Agenda"

Start Date:

Dec 03, 2012

End Date:

Dec 04, 2012

Venue:

Beirut, Lebanon

Description:

Background

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), through its Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) organized, in cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA), an expert group meeting (EGM) on "Citizen Engagement and the Post-2015 Development Agenda" in Beirut, Lebanon, in December 2012.

The EGM brought together 31 leading experts, including practitioners, researchers, government officials, representatives from Economic and Social Councils, civil society and international organizations. They agreed that engaging citizens, including socially vulnerable groups, in attaining national development agendas is an imperative in achieving sustainable development.

Experts looked at the institutional and regulatory architecture as well as effective channels and modalities set up by governments and CSOs to interact with their citizens. The potential of the Internet and mobile technologies allowing governments to better connect with citizens, deliver services and capture public preferences on development concerns were highlighted. The Citizen-Engagement Self-Assessment Questionnaire (CESAQ) was presented to the group of experts and extensively discussed as a tool to assist governments to track progress on citizen engagement in development management. The EGM also provided an opportunity for exchanging knowledge, information, experiences and good practices of existing frameworks of citizen engagement in the context of the Post-2015 Agenda.

The United Nations Public Administration Country Studies (UNPACS) preliminary findings of UNDESA/DPADM research on existing regulatory and institutional frameworks for government-citizen relations across the 193 United Nations Member States were presented with specific attention to the countries of the Middle East and North African (MENA) region.

UNESCWA and UNDESA/DPADM agreed to continue collaborating on analytical studies and capacity building to conduct self assessment and tracking progress in participatory governance.

Expert Group Meeting on "Citizen Engagement and the Post-2015 Development Agenda"

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs UNDESA through its Division for Public Administration and Development Management DPADM is organizing in cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia UNESCWA an expert group meeting EGM on Citizen Engagement and the Post-2015 Development Agenda in Beirut Lebanon in December 2012 The objective of the EGM is to provide advice on international norm setting concerning key institutions legal and regulatory frameworks for engaging citizen in development management The EGM will also provide an opportunity for exchanging knowledge information experiences and good practices as well as conduct self)-assessments and peer-reviews of existing frameworks of citizen engagement in the context of the Post-2015 Agenda The findings of DESA/DPADM research on existing regulatory and institutional frameworks for participatory governance across the 193 Member States of the United Nations Public Administration Country Studie